We have had dogs all our lives and can’t live without them. We have NEVER had to train a dog. They always just came when called, and were never a problem with other dogs. In February 2017 we adopted Paris from a rescue group thinking she was a JR mix. She is ¼ American Staffordshire Terrier, ¼ unknown mix (Asian, Hound, Terrier), 1/8 American Bulldog, Cocker Spaniel, Whippet, and Chihuahua. Her body looks Whippet but her head looks Am Staff. After about a month or two we bought our Race, a male Smooth Fox Terrier. They are inseparable but Paris is definitely the Alpha in the pair. As pups we took them to the local off leash dog park twice a day so they would be socialized. They did great for the longest time. Now they go only in the mornings and have their little "click" of dog friends. Race is VERY friendly with all dogs and people, his main problem is jumping up to greet you, and pulling on the lead to get to any animal. He is a true Terrier in that he doesn’t give up, and he can get play aggressive, not biting, but not letting the submissive dog up off the ground. I’m not worried about him, his problems I am sure I can fix using the info in the book. Paris is different matter… She seems to not like ANY puppies, any female her age or younger. Older males and very old females are okay with her. While walking on lead and another dog comes in the opposite direction it is a 50/50 chance if she will like the dog or not. If not she immediately goes for the barking/snarling/lunging which then tangles up with Race who is trying to get to the dog to play. This in turn causes them to snarl at each other. We do allow them on the couches for their “bed” at night, they have dog beds in the garage where we spend most our nights, and they have a dog door to use 24/7. We take them for runs/walks every morning, dog park and evening walks 5+ days a week (weather permitting). I walk them with a Lupine No Pull harness with both leads in my right hand. Race is pretty good about hanging around us, and he tries so hard to understand what we say to him (tilting head side to side, looking directly at us), he dives in to anything, be it a noise in the bushes, a new dog in the park, anything – no restraint with him. Paris is very independent, cautious, emotionally sensitive, and smart. If given the chance she will run like the wind and never come back (she has done it about 4 times since we have had her, and it has taken over an hour each time to get her back – no chasing her but following to watch out for her).
Reading the book, and the supplemental Aggressive Dog and Alpha Dog (which we now need to work on for ourselves), there is nothing in there about training 2 dogs at the same time who have totally different personalities. I NEED to stop Paris’ aggression toward dogs more than I need to work on Race’s jumping or play aggression. How do I train two dogs at the same time?
